In Germany we had an era of VW Käfer (Beetle) and several generations of VW Bulli (small bus) police cars, but since at the latest the 80's police cars became very diverse, usually middle class cars (most often BMW, Audi) with more modern Transporter (similar to Bulli in concept, but bigger) -type vehicles as well.

We've never had much emphasis on pursuit (no stronger engines afaik, for example).

The division is between patrol cars for most tasks and transporters for transport of much personnel (for example to a football match) or as the base for a speed measuring station etc. The extra equipment for police cars besides the colour film on the surfaces is as far as I know only loudspeaker, siren, extra lights, separation of cabin, lock of rear doors and an obsolete radio (still no digital radio in most states).
We've also got covert police cars; afaik typically 2-4 in a city of 50,000 residents. They're over-represented in German police-themed TV productions.

Police motorcycles almost disappeared, but light ones were very much in use during the 50's and 60's.

Fun Fact : As Director of Public Safety for Philadelphia, in 1924 USMC General Smedley Butler was one of the first to authorize the purchase of fast autos for pursuit of bank robbers. He also had them fitted with radios.

__________________A scrimmage in a Border Station
A canter down some dark defile
Two thousand pounds of education
Drops to a ten-rupee jezail

Evolution requires a certain amount of natural selection, meaning some must fall by the wayside...

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“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

Well, that photograph did involve a mission from God, and a Penguin, so design may have had something to do with it. Intelligent is another question...

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“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

I had one of the last Nova interceptors (aka Malibu) with a fuel injected 454 and black on black paint job with one of the first low profile light bars. We hot swapped cars and the swing crew blew the transmission into a million bits and I ended up in a Police Interceptor Crown Victoria with bubble globes. Like going from Nascar to a Golf Cart.

I also had a Bronco II which for what we did in the brush was darn near perfect. Tan and green for sneaking through the woods. Oh those were the days. Sometimes I miss law enforcement then I look at my paycheck and snap back to reality.

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Sam LilesSelil BlogDon't forget to duck Secret SquirrelThe scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives. All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.

Please tell me there are other people who were white with fright when driving a Crown Victoria at maximum speed.

Carl,
Not just the Crown Victoria. Those beasts similar to our DAO light armored 84 Caprice Classic with a raging 454 are about as stable and aerodynamic as a cinder block. It would take years before the USA big three realized just how important the tire aspect ratios and sport suspension meant. Tremendous grunt (torque) but you gotta keep it on the pavement

We also blew our TH350 and then the rear differential

The Estonian unmarked traffic car is a Subaru Impreza WRX and the SWAT with Audi S8.